A Letter from the Longhouse Chief

Big Braves,
It was a cold February night as six Big Braves worked outside of a small storage unit. By the headlamps of a small truck these six volunteer dads worked to help our program director, Dan Sloan, load the Chule track and all of the accompanying materials into a U-Haul truck in preparation for a week long event which is one of the biggest of the year.

Just a bit over a month ago I made the first call for volunteers for this event. In the course of a month we had over 30 fathers step forward and volunteer to make this event happen. The level of effort I watched go into this despite bumps in the road made me proud to be a part of this program.

During our recruiting seasons we hear a lot of folklore about the Native American Chief who founded the program many years ago. His intention was to teach the father/son traditions and bonds of Native Americans. People also know the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) as a charitable organization which exists to teach young people values that they can carry forward throughout their lives.

I am extremely grateful to the dads who volunteered over this past month to make this event happen for their sons. I am also grateful to everyone who has stepped forward to help out with all of our events this year. You are showing your son that you value your time with him by being involved in this program. You are also showing him that if he is involved in something and wants it to be a success, he must invest in it. These are both great examples of things we show our kids by being involved in the Guides. As the Longhouse Chief I have been very blessed to work with all of you.

We have some exciting things planned over the next few months to include a sleepover at the Science Center and two more Spring Campouts. I’m looking forward to these things as we finish up the year, and I hope to continue to see the level of participation that we’ve seen so far.

Thanks for all you do for the program!

Sincerely,

Paul Kohler

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The Smoke Signals is a newsletter for the South Hills Area YMCA Guide Parent/Child Program

South Hills YMCA, 51 McMurray Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15241
412-833-5600